Tempers Flare in Nebraska Session’s Final Days

(AP) — Tempers are flaring and patience is running thin in the Nebraska Legislature as senators try to shoehorn their proposals into bills that are up for a vote.

Speaker Greg Adams implored lawmakers on Tuesday to stay respectful of one another to maintain the Legislature’s credibility in the session’s final days.

His comments followed a heated late-night session on Monday, in which lawmakers tried to attach a series of popular insurance-expansion proposals onto a bill that would end the state’s public disclosure of insurance-executive salaries.

Critics argued that the amendments were “sweeteners” to help the controversial measure pass, and the whole package stalled.

Lawmakers on Tuesday attempted to latch their proposals onto other bills, including amendments that would outlaw mountain lion hunting and expand Medicaid in Nebraska.